Gold
by BadSuns08
Summary: Follow the story of Gold, the boy who thrived in the wake of Red, the most influential, and cataclysmic, person in all of Pokémon history. Follow the story of Gold, the boy who cleansed the Johto region.
1. A Strange Dream

**Gold**

**Heart gold and Soul silver Nuzlocke**

Chapter 1: A Strange Dream

A soft breeze crossed my face, making me to shiver and pull the covers closer to my body. Fighting the urge to wake up, I refused to give up the heat I had gathered under my blanket. I wanted to sleep in my warm bed forever, but before long, I gave up and lazily opened my eyes. A dark midnight blue color slowly started to creep from the ends of my vision until the only thing I can see is the dark smothering color. I started to wonder if I was still dreaming, because the only light in my room came from the window across the room. I heard a voice. It sounded masculine but kind and compassionate and wise, somewhat like a beloved grandfather, echoing across the room, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. "Hm… so this is what they call twilight… isn't it?" the voice pondered.

A soft hum filled the room. I assumed the voice was contemplating what it just said. With a hint of surprise in his (well its voice), it continued: "I'm sorry I kept you waiting! Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"

_What is a Pokémon? Wait… world … A world of Pokémon?___

The voice interrupted and continued, "My name is Professor Oak. But everyone calls me the Pokémon Professor."

"What's a Pokémon?" I squeaked. It terrified me that my voice seemed to be absorbed into the space; I couldn't even hear myself breathing. All sound except for the voice, um Professor Oak was completely nonexistent. Oak didn't even seem to notice me, and continued his speech "Before we go any farther I'd like to tell you a few things about this world. This world is inhabited widely by creatures known as Pokémon!"

When he finished his sentence an image of a blue round looking mouse creature filled my vision. Its body was mainly blue, with a white underside and a dark black zigzagging tail that ended in another blue ball. The only thing not a blue hue was the red inside of its big ears. It squeaked a shrill cry… 'marill'?_Did it just say marill? What does that mean? _It then unleashed a powerful torrent of water from its mouth, crystal clear blue, little white bubbles sporadically thrown about the edges. A soft gleam of light coursed through the water like a pulse. Despite its brilliance, I knew I would not want to be at the other end of that beam. The water was beautiful and deadly at the same time. I was filled with a mixture of awe and terror of the creature, but as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished.

With the creature gone, the dark midnight blue void again dominated all of my vision. I started to panic, my mind firing at a thousand times a second. _This is definitely not a dream anymore. _Slightly terrified now, but I remained still and listened to what Oak had to say.

"We humans live alongside Pokémon as friends. At times we play together, and at other times we work together." Oak took a short pause. "Some people use Pokémon to battle and develop closer bonds with them." _What does he mean by "battle"?_

Oaks voice gained a hint of urgency and he spoke: "Will you tell me a little bit about yourself? Are you a boy? A girl? Please tell me!" _I don't really trust Oak; why was he the only one able____to____talk? It didn't seem right to me but know he won't care about my objections; it would just be easier to tell him what he wanted to hear._ "A boy." This time my voiced boomed across the void, much like Oak's, and I could tell that he heard me this time because I heard of the soft grunt of approval that came in reply.

"Please tell me your name," Oak continued. My mind went blank. It was like I could not remember this simplest part of my memories… my name? I was silent for a minute, thinking of boy names, and when I reached Ethan, it felt… familiar, perhaps?

So I spoke back to Oak and said, "Ethan."

Oak was silent for a while, then: "Your name is Ethan. Hm that's a good name!" Oak exclaimed. "Now Ethan are you ready? Ready for your very own tale of grand adventure, that is about to unfold? Fun experiences, difficult experiences, there's so much waiting for you! Dreams! Adventure!" Oak's voice came to a rousing crescendo, filling the void.

"Let's go to the world of Pokémon!" he finished, as his voice echoed around me. I shut my eyes, seemingly not of my own accord and, somehow, I felt the dark blue recede from my mind and my body, somehow… somehow shrinking. Soon the soft breeze was replaced by a warm glow, like I was resting under a beam of light in the morning sun.

I opened my eyes and the void was gone, replaced by a room; bland, with blue walls and a hard wood floor partly obscured by a heavy rug in the middle. I got up and stretched, noticing a computer at a desk and a big TV next to some game system. A blue clock tolled, and every time when the bell rang a small yellow mouse, alike to the one I saw in the void, but different, with a longer body and a big tail with red cheeks. It would pop out of the base of the clock and exclaim, "Pika!" in tune with the bells tolls. I counted 8 bells but was it morning or evening? A glance out the window answered that; the sun was freshly risen.

I took a final look around, but there was nothing left to see. The room was unadorned… empty even, as if there were no personal objects in the room, as if no one lived here.

In the corner, I saw a stairwell that went down, where I could faintly hear the mindless chatter of early morning news and the smell of… breakfast! wafting up from downstairs. It just hit me how hungry I was and I bolted down the stairs to the kitchen, and, hopefully, the food. As I rounded the corner of the carpeted stairs, I saw a woman with a dark auburn hair wearing a pink headband and apron to match, with the worn smile of a happy spirit.

She was paying attention to the TV blaring news beside me, something about a new challenger at the Pokémon gyms over in Kanto, when she saw my face and exclaimed, "Ethan! You're awake!" I searched my brain for memories of this woman, and found that I didn't have any.

"Hi …Mom," I probed, following the tug of familiarity that I felt in the void with my name. It was the right thing to say; the thick silence enveloping us had dissolved. I glanced at the table she was sitting at and noticed the food beside her, so fresh the steam still wafted towards the ceiling above.

"Come over here and have some breakfast!" she said, her smile never leaving her face. When I sat down I heard her chuckle and say, "Teenagers and their food."

I got a plate and started eating; pancakes, bacon, eggs, so many choices and it all tasted better than anything I'd ever had before. "Thank you so much, um**…** Mom! This is the best food I've ever had!" I exclaimed through a mouthful. I began to wonder why, as soon as I woke up, all sense of panic and unease was simply gone from my mind, when I felt her staring at me.

She only smiled, familiar creases forming around her mouth as if they were regular visitors there. "By the way, hon, Lyra stopped by earlier today. Oh and Professor Elm had a favor to ask you! You remember where his lab is right? It's just next to our house. You just have that terrible habit of getting lost," She finished.

I looked at Mom and said, "Um, thanks." I say, not really knowing what I should have said to her.

I got up and headed out the door when Mom smirked and said, "Oh Chris, you might want to get out of your pajamas first." I look down and laughed, realizing I was about to run out to Elm's Lab in my sleeping clothes.

"Oh yeah, thanks for that." I say and run back up the stairs.

My thoughts were interrupted when after I get back into my room, and saw a small back pack I hadn't noticed before at the foot of the desk. The bag was a white satchel with a black circle logo on the front. On the strap of the bag were 6 clasps: _I wonder what these do._ I shrugged and opened the flap of the satchel, which was kept locked closed by a small yellow circular clasp in the center, and inside was a pair of clothes, sneakers and a small amount of money packed in the back of the bag.

I got dressed and admired the quality of the clothes in the mirror in my room. _ These couldn't have been cheap_. A red jacket was pulled over a white button-up shirt with black pants that matched my raven hair. _There's something missing_… I was about to give up when I noticed a black and yellow cap on the desk by the bag. I grabbed the cap and read a small note inside of the brim; "I cleaned all your clothes! Hope you have a great day! Love, Mom." _Cute little note,_ I thought. I started to feel like the woman might actually be my mom.

I bounded back down the stairs and when I turned the corner my hand knocked a small purple doll off the railing of the stairs. The doll immediately squealed and turned towards me with a look of pure fury. The "doll" was a purple, bipedal being with what looked like white arms and legs; it had bleached and matted blonde hair covering most of its head. The face was dominated by two large blue green eyes and pink lips so massive they might have been swollen. The doll squealed again, saying "Smoo!" and threw its head back and spit a glob of thin ice over my sneaker, trapping it the floor.

I flailed and tried to regain my balance, just barley being able to stand back up and yell at the doll. "What was that for!?" I said putting as much venom in my voice as I could; I already knew that I hated this thing. My mom looked at the scene from her chair in the kitchen and let out a small, almost unnoticeable, laugh. "Choobi that's not nice."

The "Choobi" glared at me and then dramatically turned toward Mom and let out a shrill cry, pretending to be hurt. What a baby… Mom got up from her spot on the chair and ran towards it, grabbing it and cradling it in her arms. "Now stop that fuss, Choobi," She chastised, causing it to blush a little too much, and sparking my blood to boil.

Mom looked at me, then turned her head over her shoulder towards the TV, still displaying reporters ranting about the news. "Cinder, please free Ethan." A dull-copper colored fox rose from a little bed beside the TV and trotted towards Mom. The fox's most noticeable features were its hair, the three orange curls on its head, and six on its tail. The fox turned and looked at Mom and me then back again, making the connection and glaring at Choobi in my mother's arms with disgust. It trotted over to me, placing one paw over my frozen foot, and the ice quickly melted off, freeing my foot. Cinderslowly turned and looked at Choobi, blowing a single glowing ember in its direction, causing the Pokémon to shriek and force its body closer to Mom.

"Thank you, Cinder," Mom said to the fox, who gave a short little sigh, then waltzed back towards it bed, circled it a few times then laid down, appearing to fall asleep instantly.

"Thanks, Mom," I said and bid my farewell as I turned to walk out the door getting my first view of my home town, New Bark Town.

The city was surrounded by forest on every side except for the east right, where the sea abruptly hit land; the smell of salt wafted in the air, and a steady breeze blew through the town from the sea. Most of the houses were wooden, and a few had windmills outside to catch the natural energy of the constant wind. I looked to the left to see a building much larger than the rest, though still made of wood, and beyond it a worn dirt road heading west through the woods.

I approached the bigger building and noticed a boy with red hair looking into the lab from a window near the back, looking extremely suspicious. "Hey! What are you doing?"

The figure, a boy, looked at me with a crazed glint in his eyes, his hair streaming beside him as he rushed towards me and shoved me to the ground. "Leave me alone!" He growled like a cornered animal forced to defend itself and retreated back to the window.

I got up slowly and wiped the dirt off my clothes, backing away and back towards the doors of the building. _Why would he do something like that?_ I shrugged it off and swung the steel doors inward to reveal the lab displayed before me.

…...

**Hi guys and gals! **

**This story is a Pokémon soul silver and heart gold Nuzlocke! It's based off of actual gameplay that I do, and I really have no real idea what I'm going to with the teams, but I do know where I'm going with the plot, so that's all that matters. This story for all intents and purposes, is based off another called ****Red****, by Curse of the ninth. I recommend reading his story first because it's going to go over a few things that I will just imply are there without explaining them. I'm adding to what I call the Poke science of ****Red**** but by talking about different things, mostly concerning what really happens with leveling up and evolution. And much how ****Red**** talks about genetics, I will be focusing on time travel, but don't expect major distances of time traveled (i.e. I will probably not go over a year in any direction, except maybe once near the end.) I'm going to use the same four rules that Curse used in ****Red**** which are listed as follows.**

**1. If a Pokémon faints in battle it is considered dead and must be released or permanently boxed.**

**2. You must nickname all the Pokémon you catch in order to form a stronger emotional bond with them.**

**3. You can only catch one Pokémon from any specific area, in order to not create an imbalance in the ecosystem they live in.**

**4. Revives can be used to bring back a Pokémon, but can only be found in the wild. They cannot be purchased. **

**Lastly, I wanted to say that I am going to try and bump up the action in the next few chapters. So please read the other chapters if you can.**

**- Bad_Suns08**


	2. A Prison of Ice

**Gold**

**Heart gold and Soul silver Nuzlocke**

Chapter 2: A Prison of Ice

I approached the bigger building and noticed a boy with red hair looking into the lab from a window near the back, looking extremely suspicious. "Hey! What are you doing?"

The figure, a boy, looked at me with a crazed glint in his eyes, his hair streaming beside him as he rushed towards me and shoved me to the ground. "Leave me alone!" He growled like a cornered animal forced to defend itself and retreated back to the window.

I got up slowly and wiped the dirt off my clothes, backing away and back towards the doors of the building. _Why would he do something like that?_ I shrugged it off and swung the steel doors inward to reveal the lab displayed before me.

The lab was, in a word, cluttered. Papers and books were carelessly shoved in bookcases that lined the inside. Written reports were nailed to the wall on the far side. The floors were a light-blue color with square tiles adorning it; unlike the rest of the lab, it was completely clean, making the room much more bearable to be in. There were a few little trees dotting the sides of the lab, and an older man sitting at a table typing furiously into his computer. A short man with black hair and a billowing white lab coat stood next to him, his face contorted in a nervous attempt of a smile, "Uh…sir, sir, sir, I think there's a visitor."

The short man repeatedly poked at the other man's shoulder, nervously glancing over to look at me after every few seconds. The man's shoulders slumped and he let out a brief sigh as his fingers halted there mad dance on the computer, "Ok Sheldon, thank you." He said, talking to the short man beside him. Sheldon quickly skirted away, leaving room for the man on the computer to turn around and quickly hop out of the stool. The man planted his feet and showed a broad smile proclaiming, "Hello, Ethan! Welcome to the Pokémon lab of Johto! We've been expecting you! So would you like to hear about my research, and how, if you choose, you could help me and the entirety of Johto by assisting my research… Or you could just get your Pokémon and leave." The man finished, this must have been the Pokémon professor Elm whose voice grew sinister and loathing with his last statement.

"Tell me about your research," I said wary of the man who stood before me. A smile, again, spread over his face and he started a monologue over his passion, his science. "Ok as you know Pokémon are carried in pokéball these days but before the pokeball was invented, people used to walk with Pokémon! Just like your friend Lyra and her Cyndaquil! Pokéballs are great because you can carry many Pokémon, but walking with Pokémon must have some advantages! It could do something with how they grow or evolve…So when I give you a Pokémon can you promise to walk beside this Pokémon, outside of its pokeball to see if this brings any special feelings or bonds between Pokémon and people?" Elm concluded a broad, twisted smile across his tired and worn face.

I looked at him, his face appearing to be on the edge of sanity, white matted hair messily thrown over his scalp, his eyes bloodshot with purple bags under them, with grin that would make any sane man turn tail and flee. "Yes," I said. _What happened to this man? Why is he like this?_

Elm smiled and said, "Ok then follow me." Elm moved to a machine attached to the wall, a tall cylinder, attaching to both the roof of the building and the floor. Four dark tubes extended underneath the floor, and inside the sphere rested three red and white circles, pokéballs I guess. The Professor flipped a switch on the wall and the machine let out a low buzzing noise and the dais rose to reveal another platform with two more identical pokéballs resting on a metal shelf.

I shot the Professor an inquisitive look, which caused Elm to shrug and say, "What, not everyone can start with rare Pokémon. Those were just a ratatta, pidgey, and spearow." I returned my gaze to the machine. _What a poor way to live_. With that Elm walked to his computer and typed in a few words and hit a small red button that went into both the computer and the wall.

The machine's inner workings expanded out, the thickest glass plane splitting down an invisible seam I hadn't noticed before. The heart of the machine slowly crept farther out; two thick beams held an egg shaped pedestal, the bottom pedestal holding the two pokéballs, and the top releasing a thick freezing cloud over the room.

"This machine was designed to preserve the Pokémon inside the pokéballs in a sort of cryogenic state where they will not naturally age and evolve. This machine is also extremely protected and reinforced, because the Pokémon inside are among some of the most powerful in the region when they are fully evolved, and if all was to fail there is a self-destruct override if the machine, I call it the Mother Hen." Elm finished.

"Professor Elm, are they alive in there?" I asked referencing the Pokémon on the dais. Elm looked at me like he had never heard a dumber question in his life. He pocketed his hands and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course their alive! Do you think I, Professor Elm, would carry Pokémon corpses in pokéballs and hide them in this machine, only to offer them to new trainers? You were dumber than I thought." Elm concluded with a huff. _What is he talking about I didn't mean that at all._

"No I meant are they alive when their inside their pokeball?" I returned my gaze to the creatures inside the machine. _How long have you been in there?_

Elm let out a soft sigh and said, "Oh, well my apologies for my earlier outburst. And to answer your question yes, Pokémon, while inside their pokéballs have been proven to be at least somewhat conscious of the outside world. May I ask, why are you asking?"

"Because Elm, these Pokémon have been aware of every second they've been trapped inside that machine and I intend to free one." Elm's eye glimmered with a shine and a smile spread across his face, "Your smarter than you look, go, pick a Pokémon."

I approached the open dais and the powerful Pokémon; an ice filled my veins and frost danced across my hands as I touched the closest pokeball. I closed my eyes and encased the pokeball in my hand; a pitiful cry emerged from the inside. I turned towards Elm and clicked the button in the middle of the circle, a red light flashed and a small green Pokémon emerged. The Pokémon ran on four legs, each ending in a tip of white. It had darker green dots encircling its neck and a big leaf that sprouted from the top of its head, though something was wrong: The Pokémon was a greenish-yellow, looking like a wilted flower, its eyes looked foggy and glazed, is if it was still asleep. The sickly Pokémon immediately toppled to the floor and cried, "Chii!" its dull red eyes closing.

"What have you done?" I demanded to Elm. "You cannot do this to any living being," I said scowling at Elm. I leaned down towards the creature and coddled its face between my hands, still scowling at Elm. _You will have a better life now, I promise. _I brought the pokeball back before the creature, its eyes suddenly flared open and it screamed, "Chii Chii!"

Enormous pity welled in my heart when I beheld the poor sight. I put the pokeball on one of the metal circles on the strap of my bag, and grabbed it and slowly lifted it to snuggle in my arms pressed to my chest. Elm began to talk but I ignored him and stormed outside the lab with the Pokémon coddled to my chest.

*** A few hours later***

I lay under a large Oak tree, its thick dark branches splayed out before me, like the gnarled fingers of an ancient being. Thousands of what looked like little emeralds glittered on the canopy. _Sometimes nature is so beautiful, we just need to stop and look at it._ The Pokémon I had taken from the lab had, after a long time resting into my chest, finally regained a healthy glow. Its body was now a lighter shade of green, matching the leaves above. Its red eyes were now fully open and alert, and it seemed to once again be alive, happy even.

The Pokémon, even when it was still unconscious, began to slowly emit a deep musk of crushed pine and wild flowers. The aroma was extremely pleasant and soothing, it was lulling me into an almost-asleep state, I felt more at peace now than I could ever imagined, content to lay under this tree forever. The creature made very slow deliberate movements trying not to wake me up, and then put its mouth down and began eating the grass. _What a beautiful little thing_. I wondered how anyone could torture these little beings like Elm did.

*Dusk*

The sun had begun its descent into the earth, the vibrant colors of the day colliding with the stark darkness of the night, in what was a spectacular but inevitable battle. The last of the lights rays fell upon the lab from over the trees; it was time, it had been hours since the boy with the golden cap had last been here and I doubted he was coming back any time soon. _He got one of the last two Pokémon_. Remembering when he ran out of the lab with a sickly green Pokémon straddled to his chest.

I moved towards the front of the lab and trust aside the doors walking in with the mask of cool confidence I had taught myself to always wear, though inside I was more alive than ever. _ If I can pull this off, I won't have to hide anymore. _ I walked towards the back of the lab where there was a tall awkward fellow, with thick rimmed glasses and slouched shoulders screamed, "You shouldn't be in here!" I gave the feeble man a sideways sneer and never even broke stride.

I reached a dark blue computer and typed in the password I had spied Elm put in earlier, _Wormhole, interesting password._ The screen had a little hourglass with thin white words underneath saying, Loading…Loading.

"I will not stand for this!" The lanky man huffed, and proceeded to run out of the lab shrieking, "ELM! ELM! SOMEONE IS IN THE LAB." _Idiot._ The computer loaded and three tabs immediately appeared on the screen, the llex Forest, Energy spikes in Johto and Kanto, and Lab Pokémon. I clicked the "Lab Pokémon" tab and pressed the open machine option. I hear a few soft clicks and then pressed the red button on the wall. _Soon I'll be stronger than him. I will be stronger than him and all of his lackeys, I will be a man to be feared, an unbeatable force, and I will be a champion._

**Dusk**

I stepped out of the forest, the shadows of the setting sun making my silhouette and that of my little green companion much larger and distorted than normal, the wraiths dancing across the dirt path. "I should give you a name." I said to the green Pokémon. It looked at me with its red eyes, its musk permeating the air. "Pitcher." I said to myself, but the little green Pokémon's body shook and its leaf perked straight up in the air. _I guess you heard me._

"Chi Chi!" It happily shrieked. "Ok, your name is Pitcher now." A slight smile creeping across my face, I picked Pitcher up and walked back down the worn dirt path into the town, heading towards my house near the coast when I saw the red haired boy dashing out of the lab. His feet picking up dust behind him, and holding a pokeball in his arm, he wasn't looking where he was going, only behind him, and he charged into me.

"Watch it!" The red boy shrieked and pushed himself off the ground, swiping the pokeball into his hands and scrambling back into an uncontrolled sprint, his form retreating into the darkening forest. I slowly picked myself up and saw Pitcher staring intently into the forest, emitting a soft growl and his leaf pointed directly behind him. "It's okay Pitcher, I don't think he's going to be coming back." I picked Pitcher up and tucked him back into my arm; I noticed his forepaw was resting on a silvery card with the red haired boy's face etched on it. I scanned the card and read, Name: Daniel. _So his name is Daniel. I should give this back to him next time I see him._ I pocketed the card into my bag and walked to my house. I pushed the door open and stared into the silent house, no lights on except a soft glow of a lamp in the corner. The only sound was the soft snoring of my mom and Cinder, though I couldn't tell where they were. I walked up the stairs and fell into my bed, Pitcher climbing into the bed with me and curling itself into my body.

…...

**Thanks for reading!**

** This chapter a lot of new and important things happened, Ethan got his starter Pokémon, Chikorita. Silver stole a Pokémon from the lab and I tried to make the bond between Ethan and his starter deeper and also giving a hint to Ethan's future personality, as things will be a roller coaster for him for a long time. **

**I will be giving reasons behind every nickname I give the Pokémon our hero captures at the end of every chapter they are caught/ received in. **

**-Pitcher: Named after the Pitcher plant, a plant that like Chikorita's final evolution emits a sweet smell (Ok not this last part.) that attracts prey into the plant where it is dissolved by acids. ~Bad_Suns08**


	3. Acquainting the People of Johto

**Gold**

**A SoulSilver and HeartGold Nuzlocke**

Chapter Three: Acquainting the People of Johto

"Watch it!" The red boy shrieked and pushed himself off the ground, swiping the pokeball into his hands and scrambling back into an uncontrolled sprint, his form retreating into the darkening forest. I slowly picked myself up and saw Pitcher staring intently into the forest, emitting a soft growl and his leaf pointed directly behind him. "It's okay Pitcher, I don't think he's going to be coming back." I picked Pitcher up and tucked him back into my arm; I noticed his forepaw was resting on a silvery card with the red haired boy's face etched on it. I scanned the card and read, Name: Daniel. _So his name is Daniel. I should give this back to him next time I see him._ I pocketed the card into my bag and walked to my house. I pushed the door open and stared into the silent house, no lights on except a soft glow of a lamp in the corner. The only sounds were the soft snoring of my mom and Cinder, though I couldn't tell where they were. I walked up the stairs and fell into my bed, Pitcher climbing into the bed with me and curling itself into my body.

As my body slowly drifted to sleep, my mind created spectacular visions for me to dream about. A soft green Pokémon with intense blue eyes and a crooked little smile dominated my vision and I knew that, despite its cute appearance, it wielded great power. The sprite danced across a clearing under a dark canopy of forest leaves. In the middle of the clearing stood a tall dark stone, its peak many feet above my head, and in its middle of the stone was a small pool of crystal clear water. In the midst of all the commotion, I hear a man's forlorn cries of his world collapsing around him.

The sprite erratically darted from one edge of the clearing to another, singing a soft song all the while. Pokémon began to surround the edges of the clearing, timidly at first, but, growing in number with every note, they accompanied the sprites song with their own harmonies. As the song increased in intensity and volume, the green sprite began to encircle the pillar of stone in the center of the clearing. As the song reaches its climax, the sprite looks once again towards me, eyes tinted with a purple hue. It zoomed to me and touched my forehead lightly with one of its dainty fingers. Instantly, I felt something press against my mind, a living, thinking, something that was too unusual to be human but intelligent enough to match my mind, even eclipse it. The mind was tender and gentle but also ancient and determined.

The air hummed with electricity I had never felt before, and I could feel the hairs on my body stiffen. The sprite's eyes glistened with a foreign purple color, and tendrils of energy arced from its hand into my body. _ It will all be okay, breathe and accept it, allow yourself to mold the energy, make the energy bend to your will. _The consciousness spoke.

I panicked. I thrashed my arms and screamed, severing the connection between the sprite and me. _What was happening! Why to me?!_ The sprite let out a tired grunt, its mouth curled in a disappointed frown. The sprite lifted its arms and I saw a purple glow surround my body, with it a heavy weight surrounded around my body, pinning my arms to the sides of my chest and my legs to together. I fell to the ground, immobilized, and the weight pressed against me with renewed vigor. The sprite once again began its song and circled overhead, as its song once again reach a thundering crescendo, it's dropped down towards me and calmly placed a hand on my forehead.

I felt the consciousness once again graze mine. _Go, you have a mission and you must complete it. Correct the past!_ It commanded.

_GO! _A wave of pain engulfed my being, and little trails of light danced across my skin, leaving burn marks where there was once unmarred skin. _GO! _Another wave breaks against my mind, and I clench my fist, the burning pain now beginning to rip my body to shreds. _GO!_ Another wave. _GO! _Another wave and light began to dimly emanate from my body. _GO! _And another wave crashed against my mind._ GO! _Liquid fire fills my veins as I'm struck by another wave of energy. My vision finally blots out and I feel my consciousness start to slip out of my body. Louder than before, tearing away all thoughts except this one word the consciousness screamed, _GO! _The final wave of energy breaches into my being and I am no more.

"GET OUT OF THE BED AND PUT YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!" A female voice demanded, waking me from my dream.

"Ethan you need to get up honey, something bad has happened." I heard my mom plead. My mind is just so foggy from the dream, no, nightmare, I just had, _what did that mean?_

"SIR YOU HAVE TO THE COUNT OF FIVE UNTIL I FORCE YOU OUT OF THE BED!" The female voice again screamed. I opened my eyes and slowly got out of bed, my hands shaking uncontrollably. I could still remember the sprites crazed song. Someone grabbed my wrist and threw them behind my back, cold metal scraping against my skin and my arms were pinned behind me.

"BE CAREFUL WITH HIM!" My mom screamed to the woman, whose cartoonish blue hair I could see on the outskirts of my vision. I felt another person shuffle behind me and reach for Pitcher, who uttered a soft growl and jumped onto my shoulder.

The person behind me balled their fist and knocked Pitcher off my shoulder, who collapsed in a small heap in the corner. The person pushed me down towards the stairs and I just enough time to hear the woman with blue hair grunt and calmly say, "He is a criminal miss, we do not need any other reason. Search the room, find the stolen Pokémon, and confiscate the Chikorita."

The person behind me kept shoving me farther down the house, towards the open door and a blue van with a flashing red light. Cinder appeared, as if out of thin air, on the kitchen table and growled, the hair on its neck puffing up to make it appear more menacing. I heard Choobi cry from a hidden spot in the house. The person behind me groaned, and they took one of their hands from my back, while still clasping the metal chains of my restraints, their figure stepped into my vision. She was identical to the woman upstairs, even her ridiculous blue colored hair. She emptied the contents of a gray spray bottle into the face of Cinder and the Pokémon's legs immediately buckled and its fell in a heap on the table, hopefully asleep.

"Continue forward," The officer grunted, with the exact same voice as the one still upstairs with my mom. I stood still and she kicked the back of my leg. I shouted in pain and fell to one knee. "Move it!" She demanded. I pushed myself up and slowly walked outside the door of my house. She pushed me into the blue van and closed the back doors. A bolt clicked shut and then the dim white light bulb inside the small space shut off. I was surrounded in darkness, shackled, and being taken somewhere. _What is happening to me?_

*** A bumpy car ride later ***

The van had stopped suddenly and, just as suddenly, the doors were thrown open and two more women stood outside, astride a red burly wolf, with black stripes pattering its hide and a thick golden mane making the beast appear regal. The officers escorted me out of the van and into a two story white and blue building. When I was pushed into the building, the smell struck me. It was like an intense citrus, a fragrance masquerading as good and whole but behind it hid too many lab born chemicals.

They continued to escort me past another blue haired woman and then down a hallway, towards thick mahogany doors. They opened them and threw me inside, and I heard another click. _What is it with these people and locks? _

The room was a cube, with white walls, white floors, and a white ceiling. In stark contrast to the room, there was a desk made out of the same wood as the doors, and behind it there sat a woman with a red bun pulled as tightly behind her head as the wrinkles on her face. She wore a short white dress, which uncomfortably clung to her body, and beside the desk stood two more identical blue haired officers. I heard soft crying and looked to my right; where on a white bench sat my weeping mother, Elm, and his lab assistant.

The woman behind the desk had thin red glasses on a golden chain that wrapped behind her neck; she took them off in a slow deliberate motion, and proceeded to clean them with a white handkerchief she had carried in the pocket of a white purse beside her.

"Ethan, I should tell you why you are here. This is an unofficial court hearing, and though you will still have a traditional hearing, I believed it would save us all valuable time and money if you confessed your crimes."

"I didn't do anything." I said confused, "What am I being accused of?"

The woman sighed and drummed gleaming red nails on her desk, "Ethan you have been accused of the theft of Elm Laboratories property, a crime punishable, in this for instance, by upwards of 15 years in prison. Now what say you about this accusation?" She finished putting the glasses back on her narrow face.

"He gave me the uh… I think they called it a Chikorita." I blabbered; _I didn't steal it! He gave me Pitcher! Why was I being accused? _

"Professor Elm gave Ethan the Pokémon this very morning!" My mom shrieked, pulling a pink tissue up to cover her tears.

"Ma'am, I would like to hear from the accused at this point, no more interruptions, period," The woman behind the desk said, seeming bored, which for some reason aggravated me terribly. She continued, "So Ethan, when I told you the charge you have been accused of it wasn't for stealing the Chikorita, which I have in custody here," she lifted a pokeball from the depths of her desk. "I was accusing you of the theft of the Totodile, the final Pokémon property of Elm Laboratories." She finished, the same bored look never leaving her face.

"A Totodile… I have never heard of that Pokémon before, was anyone there to seeme take the final Pokémon?" I said adding extra emphasis on my words. _These people didn't have any evidence!_

"Ethan I will not stand to be mocked!" The woman said, standing up out of her chair, and throwing her arms on the desk. She slowly sat back down and again took off her glasses and cleaned them, the only sound in the room the soft weeping of my mother. "Sheldon, Elms assistant, witnessed the theft and described a boy around your age with red hair burst into the lab access computer files and steal the Pokémon. Now though you don't have the red hair you are the only possible suspect, and could have easily put on a wig. No one else had the passwords that you observed Elm put in earlier the same day, nor the motive, to, and I quote, "Because Elm, these Pokémon have been aware of every second they've been trapped inside that machine and I intend to free one." Did you not say this?" The woman paused awaiting an answer.

"Yes I said that but that doesn't make me a thief and…"

The woman interrupted me midsentence and stated, "That is what you want us to think. Did you not intend to free the Pokémon from conditions you did not deem fit for living beings? So if you freed one you had to go back and free the other. You stole the Totodile. Elm saw you go past the lab and back towards your home. Ethan we have all the evidence we need. Just admit your crime now and begin your sentence or we can wait, find the Pokémon in question, and then extend your sentence for being uncooperative in the case." She finished, slowly tapping her fingers across the thick wood of the desk.

"I didn't do it!" I screamed "Sheldon!" I said pointing at the lab assistant, "Is THIS the boy you saw in the lab?" I said, I dug into my pocket and threw the trainer card I had picked up earlier today on the ground. _How dare they accuse me of something I did not do!_

Sheldon scrambled forward, chuckling, "I do NOT make mistakes, brat." Sheldon picked up the silver card, examining the face etched on it. A few seconds pass and his mouth dropped down, "But… How can this be? You're the one who had to have done it, but you're… right," Sheldon stammered, "At a second look, Ethan couldn't have been the culprit." He admits. Hands tucked in his pockets and head hung low.

"Ariana, uh, your Justice, this couldn't have been produced by the boy, and if this," Sheldon said pointing at the cards surface, "is our thief we have bigger problems than who stole it but making sure it doesn't get into the wrong hands, and making sure some things don't become public knowledge."

The Justice cleared her throat and motioned for Sheldon to bring her the card. She cleaned her thin red glasses again with the white handkerchief and then examined the card. Her old face paled even more than it already was, "Giovanni… I have to tell Archer." she muttered under her breath. "Take Ethan into holding for now we must look into this new development."

The two blue haired women beside the Justice promptly marched back towards me and shoved me out of the room and into a small barred cell furnished with only a bed and a toilet in the corner. They pushed me through the door and removed the manacles from around my wrist, and then in one motion stepping outside and slamming the door shut. Another bolt sounded and I sat in silence, waiting for the Ariana's judgment.

***A few hours later***

My Mother had visited, she was only allowed to stay for two minutes in which she couldn't stop talking and saying how she knew I was innocent and would be going home soon, and how much she loved me. I told her that I loved her too and then the guards forced her to leave. Since, I sat on the bed pondering the crazy day, and how Pitcher was. _Why would Elm make such a fuss over the theft of a Pokémon he was going to let sit in a metal prison until the end of time? And why is stealing it so bad?_

My thoughts were interrupted by Elm approaching the bars of my cell. A guard yelled that no one was allowed to see me, to which he responded, "I am your superior! Do not tell me what I can and cannot do!" Elm slowly turned his attention back towards me and smiled, "Hello Ethan, quite a little predicament we're in right now."

I sat stoic, not letting any of the things I was thinking show on my face. A silence filled the air and he chuckled softly, "Well I know playing games is pointless with you so I will make it simple, I know you didn't steal my Totodile. I will offer you a deal, you accept I let you free right now, if not, we can let the legal system work…" he said tapping his fingers on the metal of my cell bars.

I sat still my gaze unwavering, _what was he going to ask me to do? And what hope does he have thinking he can convince me to do it._ "I want you to retrieve an egg for me. It's a special egg, or so I have been told, and if you do it I will drop all charges against you, which I assure you is much worse than 15 years in prison." I sat looking into his eyes. _What could be so special about an egg that he would accuse me of stealing so he could wager my freedom to get it? Would it be so hard to get the egg?_

"Why did you set me up?" I demanded.

Elm smiled, "I was bored." Sudden terror filled my body._ This man has no boundaries, he will do anything._

Elm looked down and then started to walk away from the cell. This was the only chance I was going to have. "I'll do it," I softly said. Elm stopped and turned towards me with that psychopathic smile on his face, "I knew you would reach your senses!" he proclaimed and opened my cell door with a key hidden in the folds of his coat pocket.

I stepped out of the cell and he started walking to a blue haired woman behind a pane of the glass. He knocked on the glass with his hand, startling the woman behind it. "What can I get you Professor Elm, sir?" She said with the same voice as the other blue haired women. _What is going on with those girls?_

Elm smiled, "Give me the boy's bag and the Chikorita, we are leaving." The police woman looked shocked and stammered,

"But sir, he's under custody."

"Don't forget your place! My authority oversees yours, lab rat. If I give you the word you drop all the charges, understand me?" Elm threatened.

"Ok sir, whatever you say." The woman spoke, her brows furrowing in a scowl. She rose from her seat behind the glass and walked towards a locked vault, and opened it. A few brief moments of silence followed then she returned and slipped my things under a hole in the glass.

"Thank you." Elm smiled, "Oh and Jenny, you look lovely today." The woman's face contorted in a furious grimace. "Thank you," Jenny growled.

Elm threw my bag at me, putting the pokeball in his jacket. He put his arm on my back and pushed me outside. We exited the building and he called Pitcher out of its pokeball. Pitcher looked around confused, tears welling in its red eyes. "You can keep the Chikorita; it has bonded to you too much at this point to be of any use to me," Elm huffed. He reached down and grabbed Pitcher by the nape of his neck. Elm rummaged back into his jacket, _how much stuff does he have in there? _Elm pulled out a thin syringe, filled with a vile yellow liquid, and thrust the needle into Pitcher, pushing the serum into its neck.

"Get away from him!" I shouted grabbing at my Pokémon, but it was too late Elm was already done. "You're a monster!" I screamed at Elm, tears welling in my eyes. _Please don't die Pitcher; please don't let him kill you._

"Don't worry, he will not die." Elm said, dropping Pitcher on the ground, "Well, at least if you honor our agreement. Go find Mr. Pokémon, take the egg, and bring it back to me, you have three days before your… was its name Pitcher?" Elm mockingly teases, "Yes… Pitcher dies." Elm said, and started walking off towards the heart of the small town we were in.

"What did you do to Pitcher? Where do I have to go? Who is Mr. Pokémon? Why won't you tell me more? Where am I?" I pleaded to Elm's retreating figure.

He paused and chucked, "Look around you, you're in Little Root town, ask around you will find your answers." Elm finished he kept moving forward till he rounded a building and I couldn't see him anymore.

I clutched Pitcher in my chest, other than a bit of a wheezing, he seemed fine, but I knew that Elm would let him die. I had to find Mr. Pokémon, I had to save Pitcher.

…

**Hey guys!**

**As always thanks for reading and please comment! This chapter may have left you with many questions, and I am happy to assure you that I will not tell you any of the answers until I type them. This is where I take major liberties as a writer in the plot of the game, adding the court segment was necessary; to introduce a few characters and begin to unravel a plot I've been making for a while. Hope you enjoyed,**

**~Bad_Suns08**


	4. Aquainting the People of Johto p2

**Gold**

**A HeartGold and SoulSilver Nuzlocke**

Chapter 4: Acquainting the People of Johto Part Two

I clutched Pitcher in my chest, other than a bit of a wheezing, he seemed fine, but I knew that he would only get worse. I had to find Mr. Pokémon, I had to save Pitcher.

I slowly got up out of my crouch, my weary joints cracking in protest. My feet shuffled in front of me, one before the other in muddled line. _Where did Elm go? _Scrambling down the path I found myself in the heart of the small city. The entire town was all painted in a dull white and cherry red, surrounded by what look like a solid white wall of fences taller than me.

I followed the path that I thought Elm took, passing a small handful of the homes. _Where is everyone? It's like no one lives here. _I started running, my breath quickening and sweat collecting on my brow, trying to find where Elm had gone.

"Hello! Can anyone help me?" I screamed to the houses around me, slightly slurring my words together. My foot caught on a rock in the road, and I fell on one knee. _Why won't anyone help me?_ I thought, screaming my frustrations into my knee.

I kept going down the dirt path, turning right and blindly charging down the way. Pitcher started to squirm in my chest, groaning and looking at me in annoyance. "I'm trying to save you!" I yelled down at him. Pitcher's eyes watered and he bit his lip, squirming even more to get out of my grasp; I sighed and stopped looking down at Pitcher, "I'm sorry, just we need to find Elm, so we can make you better."

I found a gap in the tall fence, and started to go down that way, mind clouded and tired, I barely saw the old man sitting behind a small desk in the shade of an umbrella.

"Young Sir, are you leaving so soon?" The old man called out.

I simply ignored him and kept shuffling forward, my left leg buckled and I fell to the ground again. My head hit hard against the dirt, and I felt Pitcher move from underneath me. Something warm started to slowly creep across my face, the dry dirt stinging my eyes and burning my skin. Pitcher cried out, cupping my face in its large leaf appendage.

"Oh no! Are you okay young 'in?" The old man called again, rising out of his chair and scooting towards me. Pitcher left out a soft growl, placing its feet defiantly in front of me. _He's trying to protect me from the old man._

I didn't respond, my swollen lips refusing to move. I felt my eyes start to close and Pitcher's growling grow in menace and volume. I heard a quick bit of commotion and then Pitcher moved aside, and a hand started to shake my shoulder.

"Young sir… Hello?" A voice asked, but it was too late, I could no longer stay awake.

*Some time later*

I woke in a small bed, Pitcher curled beside me with my hat resting on his head. The room was small and mostly unfurnished, just the bed, rug, a small desk and something behind me making a creaking noise. I started to lift my head and wished I hadn't. Nausea washed through me, like a wave crashing against shore, and pain lanced in my head.

Groaning, I cupped my hand underneath Pitchers stomach, bringing him to rest on my chest. Pitcher woke up with a little fit, red eyes now flashing, Pitcher chirped and stood up on my chest. Vines sprouting out of his neck bulbs, Pitcher moved my gold cap back unto my head.

Underneath the hat was a small white bandage that wrapped around Pitchers neck, the soft padded area resting just below one of his bulbs near the back of his head.

"Yer awake!" I heard the older man's voice shout from behind me. I jumped up, sitting upright in the bed and accidentally flinging Pitcher off my chest. I glimpsed the old man in a rocking chair behind me and once again the nausea over took me and I immediately fell back down onto the bed.

"Pardon me if I startled you! Oh but don't worry young man, yer safe here. You've been sleeping in that bed for nearly a whole day now I reckon!" I groaned in response, my head still in splitting pain.

"I almost forgot, yer supposed to have this when you wake up, supposed to help with yer head and the like. Jenny's orders," The old man said, handing me a small cup full of a dark brown liquid. "Oh and it might be a bit bitter."

I shook my head and downed the liquid, its strong musky odor traveling down my throat and sticking to my tongue. I gaged on the drink, its strong bitter taste assaulting my senses.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of anything but the taste, but soon felt the taste, and the pressure in my head, slowly start to fade. After I regain enough of my sense, I sat up in the bed, this time not hurting my head, and asked, "Who are you?", pulling Pitcher back into my arms where I knew he would be safe.

"My name is Eugene Wright Stone, been livin' in these parts since the city was made. Most my family left me though, all traveled across the sea to follow my rich cousin and his spoiled son. Oh but I still do have my two grandkids with me!"

"I'm… Ethan." I stammered confused about why Eugene told me about his family, "Why did you take me here?"

Eugene laid back into the rocking chair and started to rock himself, pulling on his suspenders with every backwards rock. "Boy, you were in no condition to go home! You were white as a ghost, all wobbly legged and shakin' too. You fainted out where I was greeting the tourists and the like. So I called my grandsons and we brought you back over here to help yer get back on your feet."

"Where exactly are we?"

"Why were in the Pokémon center, where else." He softly chuckled.

"Okay… how has Pitcher been?" I asked, unaware of what a Pokémon center was.

"Great," Eugene laughed, "Aint no better guard Pokémon out there, barely let Devin get close to you this morning." He chuckled again, continuing to slowly rock in his chair.

"Devin?"

"One of my grandson's you see, Devin's the eldest, and Joey is my little rascal. Their out on route thirty trainin' their Pokémon If you want to go meet em' later."

"Okay, I will. Thank you for all your hospitality Eugene." I said.

"No problem whippersnapper," He smiled, "Are you going back towards New Bark town?"

"I… well I have no idea where anything is actually." Pitcher let out a soft cry and twitched, a deep frown resting on its face.

"Your Pokémon doesn't sound alright over there; you need to go see Miss. Jenny at the front desk." Eugene said, picking up my bag from the corner and giving it to me. "I bought some potions for you."

"Thank you, but I need to find Mr. Pokémon." I said concern for Pitcher resurfacing as I remembered my deal with Elm.

"Oh he lives on the same route that my youngin's are on! Just keep heading north on route thirty and you'll find his house in a jiffy!"

"Thank you so much Eugene! How can I ever thank you, but I … don't know where route thirty is." I asked, truly lost with where I was supposed to go, and where I was.

Eugene started laughing loudly, violently shaking his rocking chair. "Sunny, I think you need this more than I do," Eugene said pulling out a small blue square box from the pocket of his pants.

"Eugene, I can't take anything else from you." I said, rising out of the bed, slinging my bag over my shoulder and grabbing Pitcher to rest on my shoulder.

"Ethan, you won't survive without it," Eugene said smiling so much that his eyes almost closed.

He opened my palm and put the blue square in it, "This is a town map, and maybe you won't be so lost now." Folding my fingers closed over the device Eugene smiled, "Now I will take you out and show you the rest of the Pokémon center.

Eugene walked out of the door of the small room, but left it open for me to follow. I took a few wobbly steps then regained my balance and walked out of the door.

Eugene walked up a few steps and emerged into an orange lobby. A woman with cotton-candy like pink hair sat behind the counter, cheerfully waving at people passing by in the lobby. "She," Eugene said pointing towards the woman, "Is nurse Jenny. She will heal your Pokémon after Pokémon battles. The stairs up there," Eugene said pointing, "leads to the cafeteria, and we just got up from the floor with the rooms."

Eugene walked to the glass doors of the Pokémon center, turning around and holding out a hand, "It was nice meeting you youngin', remember go talk to my grandkids if you see em', I'm going to get my old bones back home." I shook Eugene's hand and saw him walk back towards his home, hands on his suspenders and whistling a tune. _What a lovely, and weird, old man._

I approached the woman behind the counter, grabbing Pitcher and holding him aloft in front of me.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokémon center!" The woman cheerfully recited as I drew nearer, "Is there anything we can do for you today?"

"My Pokémon's been poisoned, can you help him?" I inquired.

"Absolutely!" She cheered, "Now what caused the poison, a zubat, oddish, ekans perhaps?" She asked, lifting Pitcher off the counter and onto a small gurney.

"I..I don't know what it was." I stammered.

"Oki-doki, well, why don't you sit over on our benches for a moment while I run some tests on your Pokémon." She said walking into a room behind the counter where I couldn't see her, or Pitcher anymore.

I sat down on the bench and produced the town map that Eugene gave me from my bag, pressing a button on its center, it expanded outwards, and a small screen glowed and showed me a confusing jumble of squares and lines. A small red arrow pointed over a square and said, "YOU ARE HERE." I clicked a few buttons and only learned what I already knew, that I was in Cherrygrove City. I heard a small cough and I looked up to see the pink haired woman frowning and holding Pitcher on the counter.

"Sir your Pokémon has crobat toxin in its blood, I'm sorry I can't cure it." She said sounding defeated.

Picking up Pitcher I asked, "Is there anyone who can?"

"Not around here," She said frowning. "Maybe the Goldenrod City center has the antidote, but that's a long journey your Pokémon wouldn't survive.

"Thank you for trying," I meekly responded, grabbing Pitcher and leaving the center defeated.

Opening the door and stepping outside, I looked down at Pitcher, "Looks like we have no choice buddy, we have to do what Professor Elm wants." I glanced at a sign next to the Pokémon center, stating that route 30 was just up to the left.

The path sprawled before me, another gap in the tall picket white fence that encircled the entirety of the small town. The path was boxed in by rock cliffs on one side, the other a wall of dense trees. It looked like the land was trying to swallow the small little path up. The "Route 30" was a winding road of thick heavy trees and tall grass, which swayed ominously in the breeze. The path was quite I realized, like nothing lived here. Pitcher deftly leaped off of my shoulder, landing on the ground disoriented. He lifted his head and sniffed the air.

"Come on Pitcher," I said, taking a step into the grass. Pitcher obediently followed, and trotted in front of me, constantly looking for something in the grass.

I walked up to the edge of the first patch of tall grass, unnerved but untouched. Walking the few yards forward through the grass, whose prickly fingers grazed my bare skin, and tugged on my clothes._ Why is the grass so…Hostile?_ A small house stood before me, with an odd tree nesting beside it. I approached the house's door I noticed it had the same white and red roof pattern as the ones back in Cherrygrove. I balled a fist and knocked at the door, hoping I had found the fabled Mr. Pokémon so I could help Pitcher.

"COME IN!" A man's voice cheerfully screamed through the door. I slowly opened the door to see a balding man sitting by a table in the middle of his house, green fruit in his hands.

"ARE YOU HERE TO LEARN ABOUT APRICORNS?" He screamed, loud enough to make me wince, lifting the fruit so I could see it better in his hands.

"Um no? Are you Mr. Pokémon?" I asked, wanting to leave this man as soon as possible.

"Oh, are you another one of Elms grunts? Just keep going down the path and you'll find him." The man groaned, surprisingly not screaming, but with a frown on his face. _This isn't the first time Elm has sent people to collect from Mr. Pokémon?_

"Thank you… And maybe on my way back ill come and hear about your apricorns." I said, trying to cheer the man up. A smile stretched across his face and he eagerly shook his head.

"I'LL BE WAITING! HURRY BACK!" He once again screamed. I winced and walked back out of the door of his house. _What just happened?_ I thought. Closing his door and slowly stepping outside again, I could still see the apricorn man through his window, chuckling and shifting his gaze from the apricorns in his hands. I heard him scream through the walls of his house, cooing to his hands. "Sweet, sweet apricorns."

I never went back into his house.

I had continued down the path, at first nothing neared Pitcher and I but a few small beige birds, but they were easily scared off by a fierce glare by Pitcher. As we continued down route thirty the birds grew in confidence and numbers, one being so bold that it pecked Pitchers hide, tearing open a small gash that bleed down his side. Pitcher shrieked and grew his vines, grabbing and throwing the brown bird into the thick grass where it remained hidden.

"Pitcher are you okay!" I shrieked, scrambling around in my bag until I found the small blue spray bottle Eugene called a potion. I got near pitcher and sprayed one squirt onto the wound, and watched as it miraculously healed. Tendons reconnected and smooth green skin grew over new muscle.

The sun was once again setting over the horizon and I started to look for a spot for Pitcher and I to sleep for the night. I sifted through the tall grass and walked into a clearing, surrounded by trees to the east and west and more grass to the north, I heard two voices talking and looked towards a campfire in the corner of the clearing.

A tall teenage boy had his back turned to me, silver hair shining atop his head. I heard him scolding someone else, "Ok Joey, so… Why. Don't. We. Poke. A . Weedle?" He sighed loudly, trying to make a point to this Joey.

"Dev," The boy begged, "I'm sorry you got stung by a weedle, but how was I supposed to know it was going to attack!" I remembered Eugene talking about his grandkids, Joey and Devin, and how they were on this route training their Pokémon.

"You're hopeless," Devin groaned, rubbing his butt, "Just be glad it wasn't you who got stung!" He moved over and sat down by Joey, wincing and moving to get comfortable.

"I'm just glad Hestia was there to save us!" Joey cheered motioning to a red and yellow cat like creature I hadn't seen before nesting literally in the fire.

I got to see the both boys features clearly now, the older having a sharp angled face, and crystal blue eyes. He was thin and appeared to almost have an air of elegance, his dark clothes making his hair shine with a brilliant contrast. Joey, on the other hand, was anything but. Joey had large brown eyes, the same color as his auburn hair, and when he smiled he was missing a few teeth. His hands were filthy and he continuously rubbed them on everything, his clothes, his hair and even Devin's shirt.

I walked out of the shadows and approached Devin and Joey, hands in my pockets and head hung low. "Hi." I said meekly. _Great first impression Ethan: spying on them and then creepily walking towards them._ I mentally slapped myself and stepped closer to the fire, fully exposed by its light.

Devin snapped his attention to me and quickly jumped to his feet, the Pokémon rising out of the flames and sitting in front of him, looking more contempt then ready to fight. The Pokémon had a red body, wreathed in yellow fur that was twisted into a shape that made It's neck and tail look like it was on fire. It had black eyes and a taunt little mouth, mocking me by merely existing.

He looked me up and down a few times, shoulders tense and stood on the balls of his feet, ready to strike. He stood like that for a moment and then rolled his shoulders back, relaxing, "Wait your that kid we helped Gramps pick up yesterday."

"In the flesh," I smiled weakly, "Eugene told me that I should come visit you two on this route since I was coming down here anyway."

Devin smiled, "Sounds like Gramps," he laughed softly to himself, "Hestia it's okay go back to sleep." He said addressing the Pokémon beside him. The fire-cat strutted back into the flame resting among the hottest coals, its tail and mane dancing with the flames. Devin took a step forward and extended a hand, "Hey I'm Devin Stone, nice to meet you."

I grabbed his hand and shook it, his face highlighted by the orange glow of the fire. "I'm Ethan, nice to meet you." I said back. Our eyes locked, hands unmoving, we just looked at each other. An unspoken conversation going on between our eyes, the fires light again shifting and casting shadows on his jaw.

Devin tensed and let out a small breath, "Nice to meet you too." Silence again reached between us, the unspoken conversation resuming, connected by our hands still clasped and your eyes unmoving.

The fire cracked, and Joey shifted from his sitting position, raising up and taking my hand from his older brother, "I'm Joey!" He screamed.

"Hi Joey," I responded still looking at Devin but it wasn't the same; he had retreated towards the shadows at the edge of the light and threw his hands in his pockets.

…

**Sorry for the terrible delay in the chapters, writing has been hard for me since I have been very busy lately. I spent a long time writing today though and finished this chapter, and nearly the next so please keep faith and wait for the next chapter, it is coming soon!**

**~Bad_Suns08**


	5. A Dancing Flame

**Gold**

**A SoulSilver and HeartGold nuzlocke**

Chapter 5: A dancing flame

The fire cracked, and Joey shifted from his sitting position, raising up and taking my hand from his older brother, "I'm Joey!" He screamed.

"Hi Joey," I responded still looking at Devin but it wasn't the same; he had retreated towards the shadows at the edge of the light and threw his hands in his pockets.

It was a restless night after the awkward meeting; both Pitcher and I couldn't sleep. I stayed awake, unmoving against a rock and watched the flame that was Hestia go from a roaring fire to a sputtering cinder. Pitcher seemed mesmerized by Hestia, going as close as he could to her, even pressing a small toe on to her tail when she finally let her fire die.

I watched, all through the night, just looking at the things around me; Pitcher, Hestia, Joey, Devin, and more than most the night's sky. I heard strange things flying overhead, stranger than the normal brown birds. Once during the night I heard two shrill cries, almost like two distinct voices singing the same song. One was a higher pitched and more feminine with an aura of mystery in every note, while the other was more masculine and sounded earthier than the other. Though they were distinctly different, they blended together perfectly.

I spotted a red blur zoom across the sky, just above the tree tops, and then a blue, diving from the heavens. _They're so beautiful._ The beasts flew farther into the distance where I could see them no more.

I almost woke Devin up to tell him about the things I had seen, the dazzling red and blue beings that flew above all of us, but decided not to. He would probably prefer to sleep than hear my story. Pitcher had finally fallen asleep as the sky began to lighten. The soft coos of the birds waking from their roosts created a chorus encouraging rising dawn. _The little things that are so amazing that we take for granted. _

_I wish everyone could just appreciate this as much as I do._

Devin began to slowly turn, moving his face from the rising sun back into the shadows. His hair splayed across his head, like a silver crown. _I wonder what he's dreaming. Why didn't I go to sleep? I'm going to be exhausted tomorrow._

I moved from against the rock to lying on the ground, my face hidden from the sun. I rubbed my eyes yawning, and a wave of drowsiness washed over me. _Now I can finally sleep. Well I should make the best of it and get a few hours rest._

I woke up to someone shaking my shoulder and shouting, "Come on Ethan wake up! Don't be a lazy snorlax!" It was Joey, but I just groaned and move away from Joey's voice.

"Joey, leave him alone! At least let me finish breakfast first, and _THEN _you can wake up Ethan." Devin shouted from farther away. It was too late though, I had smelled some meat cooking over a fire.

"Breakfast!" I shouted bolting straight up and rubbing my eyes. I walked over to where Devin was squatting over a fire, no Hestia, with a little white apron covered in various stains, holding a spatula in one hand, and a skillet with bacon in the other.

"Good morning to you too," he crookedly smiled, looking back at the food he was making.

"When are we going to eat?" I asked squatting down beside him.

"Soon enough," he chuckled then contorted his face in disgust, "Ethan you smell TERRIBLE." He said scooting as far away from me as he could while still cooking.

"I'll go find a river or something after breakfast." I said, scooting closer to him just to mess with him.

"Nooo you'll go now, I will not eat breakfast with you and Joey when you both smell like Glooms." He responded, flicking the spatula in my direct for emphasis.

"I DO NOT SMELL LIKE A GLOOM!" Joey shouted running over to his brother and pouting. "Grandpa said you couldn't be mean to me anymore or he wouldn't let you go on that journey you always talk about!"

"Joey I'm not being mean if it's true!" Devin snapped back, then added, "But how about this, you and Ethan go wash up somewhere and Hestia and I will find some berries and make puffins." He smiled at Joey hoping that was incentive enough.

Oh, it was. Joey's eyes got wide and he grabbed my arm, dragging me away from the warm fire.

"We'll be back!" Joey screamed picking up a small bag and dropping me. Joey motioned for me to get up and follow him then started down a path.

A little later, Joey and I successfully being clean went back into the clearing to have breakfast with Devin.

Devin had somehow set up a small table with a white and red table cloth, and set out a small breakfast and three weird blue muffin shaped things.

Devin was in the corner of the clearing with Hestia, having her spit fire on a small tree set alone from the rest.

"DEVIN WE'RE BACK!" Joey shouted running towards the table and grabbing one of the blue muffins in his hands.

Devin put Hestia in a pokeball and jogged back towards us. "Well don't just stand there Ethan, sit down." He said smiling and sitting down in a chair by the table.

Devin had cooked bacon some eggs and the muffin things. I motioned towards one, "Are those puffins?"

"Yes they are," Devin smiled, "And if you ask Joey they are the best thing in the world." Joey crammed the last bit of a puffin in his mouth and nodded. "Try one." Devin said.

I picked up the puffin and took a small bite; an immediate sweet taste flooded my system. It was light and fluffy, yet moist too. "This is amazing!" I said, taking another bite.

"Glad you two like them." Devin said eating some eggs. "Where are you going after this?" Devin asked after a bite.

"Well I need to go find Mr. Pokémon and get an egg for Professor Elm." I said

"That guys a real meany face." Joey chimed in.

"Yes he is, but why are you getting him an egg?" Devin asked.

"He poisoned Pitcher." I said frowning

"Pitcher?" Devin asked

"My only Pokémon. The little green guy I had on my shoulder when I got here," I said looking around, "where is Pitcher?"

I got up and looked for him, finding him still sleeping by the rock. "Wake up Pitcher." I said shaking him. "Pitcher wake up," I said shaking him more, but he wouldn't. "Oh no I've only got today left. Tell me where Mr. Pokémon's house is I need to go now." I pleaded to Devin.

"Wait do you have another Pokémon?" Devin asked.

"No." I said, fishing for Pitcher's pokeball in my bag so I could carry him around faster.

"Okay, I'm going with you." Devin said lifting me up to my feet.

I found Pitchers pokeball and put him back into it, "No, I couldn't ask you to do that."

Devin turned me so I could look at him, "It wasn't a question. Besides you couldn't protect yourself, do you even know how to battle?" His blue eyes locked with mine, he had grabbed me by my arms and held me there so I couldn't move.

"No," I admitted. He let go of my arms.

"Time for someone to teach you."

Devin stood at the center of a field; he had released Hestia, who waited at the other end of the field, wreathed in the red flame of her body. Devin's also let out another Pokémon, a grey skinned Pokémon that looked like a man with three yellow fins on its head, and a small grey tail, waited for an attack.

"Watch closely, this is what a Pokémon battle looks like!" Devin yelled, and with no breath in between screamed, "Hestia Fire Spin! Dempsey, Bulk Up!" The small red cat leaped from its spot in the field into the air, spinning violently and making a small vortex of fire around it. She seemed to almost float in the air, twisting her body so that the fire flowed with the wind surrounding her, and then pounced down at Dempsey, the grey Pokémon.

Dempsey on the other hand did nothing but stand there and clasp his hands together, his skin seemed to tighten around him and sweat collected on his brow. Hestia landed at Dempsey's feet; the fire that had surrounded her body flew forward and wrapped itself in a funnel around Dempsey.

"Dempsey Bullet Punch!" Devin screamed, raising his fist in the air. Dempsey dashed forward incredibly fast, his fist connecting with Hestia's flaming body multiple times. Hestia cried out and looked back at Devin, unsure of what to do.

The flames that curiously managed to stay around Dempsey seemed to flicker, and then Dempsey himself gave a cry of pain.

"What are you doing to them?" I demanded, unsure of why Devin was being so cruel.

"I'm fighting with them, something you should get used to, it's why you got Pitcher." He stated, "Besides they will be fine after this."

Devin turned his attention back to the two Pokémon circling each other on the field; the small tornado of flames still surrounding Dempsey.

"Dempsey, use Karate Chop! Hestia, Ember!" The two combatants did as they were told, Hestia spitting a small ball of flame at Dempsey, and Dempsey in return, running forward with one of his fist raised high. The flame brushed past Dempsey, seeming to do nothing at all, and then he lowered his fist and hit Hestia on her shoulder, causing her to fly back to the ground in a heap.

"That's enough, return." Devin said clicking two poke balls in his hands. A red beam quickly snaked to the two Pokémon and threw them back into the pokeballs.

"That is battling, something you need to learn how to do." Over the course of few minutes, Devin healed his Pokémon, mock battled them again, and then handed me a pokeball.

"I want you to battle me this time." He said his crystal blue eyes piercing mine.

"Okay," I said eyeing the white and red orb in my hand.

"Release him." Devin said backing away and raising a pokeball in his hands. I clicked the button in the middle of the orb, and Dempsey popped out.

"Remember his moves are Bulk Up, Bullet Punch, Karate Chop, and Rock Smash." Devin chimed from across the field, Hestia now resting by his feet.

"Hestia, Quick attack!" Devin screamed immediately into the battle. Dempsey looked up at me waiting, willing for me to command it to fight.

"Dempsey, Bullet Punch!" Hestia was nearly to Dempsey, but in a blink of an eye Dempsey sprinted to meet Hestia head on. Hestia threw all her momentum into Dempsey, colliding with him, but this let Dempsey grab Hestia with one hand, and then throw punches with the other. I counted three blows connecting to Hestia's side and then Dempsey threw her on the ground waiting for another command.

"Hestia use Shadow Claw!" Devin shouted. Hestia leaped up from the ground and sprang at Dempsey, with no room to run, Hestia's claw, glowing with a demonic purple light slashed at his face, tearing three lines down his face and neck. Dempsey cried out, and blood trickled down his face. '

Concern welled in my chest but I knew I couldn't do anything now, "Dempsey, Rock Smash!"

Furrowing his brow, Dempsey jumped up into the air and brought a fist down on Hestia's head." Hestia cried and retreated away from Dempsey and me, over to the corner of the field by Devin. Devin clicked the pokeball and Hestia returned to him. "Well well, we got ourselves a natural." He said smiling.

I put Dempsey back into his pokeball, and threw it to Devin. "Can we go to Mr. Pokémon's house now?

"Sure I just wanted you to be ready," Devin said.

We walked the way to Mr. Pokémon's house, Joey always standing behind me when a brown bird or weasel looking Pokémon in the grass would jump out to attack us, only to have Devin step forward and defeat it with Dempsey or Hestia. Waiting at the seemingly end of the long forest, sat a small house.

"Joey, wait out here, Ethan and I are going to get the egg." Devin commanded, with an aura of authority that he didn't seem to have before.

"Ok Dev." Joey stammered, looking at the forest behind us scared.

Devin sighed then went over to joey, crouching; he grabbed Joeys hand softly and placed a pokeball in it. Pushing the white button in the middle, a red beam flickered and Dempsey appeared behind Joey, awaiting commands. "Dempsey stay here and protect Joey no matter what." Devin said looking into the creatures red eyes. Dempsey nodded and stood still by Joey's side.

"You're going to be safe now," Devin softly spoke, "and we will be right back."

Joey looked at Devin and smiled, "Okay Dev, will Gold be coming back?"

"Who's Gold?" I asked raising my brow.

"You, Joey has called you that a few times." Devin coolly responded, not looking back at me.

"You know, cause your cap!" Joey said pointing at my hat. I mulled it over, _there is much worse nicknames._ I took the cap off of my head and looked at it, a small piece of white paper falling out of the brim.

"If you guys would let me stay with you," I said picking up the paper and tucking it back into my cap, thinking of my mother. "Why are you guys acting so serious, we're just going to ask for an egg?"

"Nothing with Professor Elm is that simple. This man is a monster. There's something you don't know about going on." Devin said rising and brushing the dirt off of his pants.

Devin released Hestia and started walking towards the house, "So now that we only have one Pokémon I want you to stick behind me and if something happens to me," he looked down at Hestia, stroking her mane, _how is he not getting burned? _

"I want you to control Hestia, and if it's really bad, raise her until Joey is old enough to. Did you hear that Hestia." The cat let out a low rumble that resembled a purr.

"Okay let's go." Devin said reaching the door of the small house.

…

**So this chapter I wrote much faster than the last and I'm proud to say that. I wanted to add that I am laying down foundations of how I want the Team Rocket (Neo Team Rocket) of Johto to run, and introducing characters that are going to say with the story, so please excuse the lack of actual gameplay being written about right now. That being said, I want to write roughly 3 more chapters (The end of this whole egg dilemma, The Bellsprout Tower, and then the gym.) until he defeats the first gym, so please have patience. Lastly here is a list of the Pokémon that Ethan, and Devin own, and their levels roughly.**

**Gold:**

**Pitcher: Gold's Chikorita lv.7 moves: Tackle, Growl, and Poison Powder**

**Devin:**

**Hestia: Devin's Flareon lv.15 moves: Fire Spin, Ember, Quick Attack, and Shadow Claw**

**Dempsey: Devin's Machop lv.15 moves:** **Bulk Up, Bullet Punch, Karate Chop, and Rock Smash**


End file.
